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Press Release

Last Defendant Sentenced To Prison For Shipping Cocaine Via Mail

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Nevada

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas resident was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to 57 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to ship cocaine and money proceeds via the U.S. Postal Service from Las Vegas to Columbus, Ohio.

According to court documents, between November 18, 2020 and January 28, 2021, Luis Enrique Ortiz-Ibarra (30) and co-conspirators Marcell Arturo Perez-Aranda (25) and Juan Carlos Montalvo-Navarrete (28) shipped cocaine and money through the U.S. Postal Service. As part of the conspiracy, Ortiz-Ibarra and Montalvo-Navarrete shipped parcels containing cocaine from Las Vegas to Columbus, Ohio. Over the course of the conspiracy, Ortiz-Ibarra and Montalvo-Navarrete shipped 17.9 kilograms of cocaine from Nevada to Ohio. During the same period, Perez-Aranda shipped parcels containing tens of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds from Columbus back to Las Vegas.

Ortiz-Ibarra pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

Montalvo-Navarrete was sentenced to 60 months in prison; and Perez-Aranda was sentenced to 57 months in prison.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kevin Adams for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Las Vegas District Office made the announcement.

The DEA investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Brister prosecuted the case.

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Updated March 6, 2023

Topic
Drug Trafficking
Component